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Steelers Camp Reports

I was able to make an appearance at camp today, but missed the goalline drill at the end. The weather was nice, as there was not a cloud in the sky after what started as an extremely humid week. Ben Roethlisberger was the first player out of the locker room and the last player on the practice field, as he stopped and signed numerous autographs for the plentiful spectators lining the walkway to the St. Vincent practice facility. My pictures from the practice are located HERE.

Quarterbacks

Both Ben Roethlisberger and Charlie Batch showed off their accurate and strong arms with minimal mistakes for the early afternoon crowd. Omar Jacobs threw an interception across the middle in 7-on-7 drills, but was otherwise mistake free. Charlie Batch and Omar Jacobs worked on the center-quarterback exchange prior to practice with Chukky Okobi and Marvin Philip respectively. Shane Boyd showed off his mobility once again, running the ball well in 11-on-11 drills.

Runningbacks

Willie Parker and Duce Staley once again rotated with the first team. Verron Haynes also got some reps with the starters, albeit not as many. Parker, Staley, Haynes, and Cedric Humes all looked good running the ball today. Each showed ability to hit their lane and utilize their speed to get to the outside. On one run during 11-on-11 drills Parker went downfield untouched, gaining about 30 yards before Troy Polamalu nudged him out of bounds. Parker also spent his time during the special teams drills working on his hands with Santonio Holmes. Staley was particularly active catching passes and without a doubt had more repetitions as a receiver than any of the other backs.

Wide Receivers

Hines Ward sat out practice and Nate Washington started opposite Cedrick Wilson as the split end. Both Wilson and Washington had an excellent practice. Wilson displayed his ability to go up and come back for the ball, while Washington showed off his speed going over the top. The play of the day was a bomb by Roethlisberger to Washington over top of Ike Taylor and Ryan Clark. Wilson also beat DeShea Townsend and Troy Polamalu deep on a route during 7-on-7 drills. Sean Morey was the first wide receiver on the field before practice and immediately headed for the JUGS machine. He made some remarkable catches during practice, as he continued to line up after Santonio Holmes and before Willie Reid in the rotation. Holmes, as mentioned before, worked on his hands with Willie Parker during special teams drills. He had a terrific practice, catching everything thrown his way and spinning around defenders leaving them grasping air. It appears that Ken Whisenhunt has big plans for Willie Reid. Reid has had the ball in his hands on every trick play I have seen the Steelers run in camp, taking the ball outside on reverses in nearly every practice. He has also been sensational as a receiver.

Tight Ends

The tight ends lined up against the linebackers today in a blocking drill. Tight ends coach James Daniel praised Jonathan Dekker on his blocking. Dekker is quietly having an exceptional camp. He and Arnold Harrison had a war of words after the squared off in the blocking drill, which Dekker won. Heath Miller showed off his blocking ability, dropping two backers in the drill. The fans on the hillside went wild, as Miller manhandled his opponents. He did lose one match up to Clark Haggans early in the drill, however. Jerame Tuman won his match up with Haggans and caught a nice pass down the seam later in practice.

Offensive Line

As mentioned before, Chukky Okobi and Marvin Philip worked on their center-quarterback exchanges before practice. Okobi also worked with Chris Hoke on picking up his man after the snap. For the most part, the offensive line was working out on the opposite field and out of my view.

Defensive Line

Aside from the aforementioned work between Chris Hoke and Chukky Okobi, there is little to report on the offensive line. Marvel Smith spent a large portion of practice working on his backpedal.

Linebackers

Clark Haggans and James Harrison had the most success in the tight end-linebacker blocking drill. Haggans was halted by Jerame Tuman, but succeeded against Heath Miller. Arnold Harrison and Jonathan Dekker got into each other’s faces after a heated showdown in front of both position coaches and Bill Cowher. Joey Porter received a loud cheer from the crowd, as he observed the drill.

Defensive Backs

Bryant McFadden made the lone interception of the day, returning an Omar Jacobs pass for a touchdown. Ryan Clark started at safety opposite Troy Polamalu, while Ricardo Colclough and Bryant McFadden played in the dime.

Special Teams

Special teams practice took place on the far field from me. I have nothing to report.

A brief rain almost canceled today’s afternoon practice, but the sun quickly returned and practice continued unimpeded. The offense arrived on the field first and began with walkthroughs. The defense joined them on the field after about 15 minutes and special teams practice commenced. You can view my pictures from the afternoon practice HERE.

Quarterbacks

Charlie Batch fumbled a snap and both Ben Roethlisberger and Shane Boyd tossed interceptions. Roethlisberger wore a yellow cap on his helmet during practice to make him stand out; likely as a precautionary measure. Charlie Batch was right on target with his passes in the one-minute drill, which is covered in detail below. Shane Boyd also looked impressive in the second installment.

Runningbacks

Willie Parker and Duce Staley continue to share first team repetitions with Verron Haynes stealing a handful of touches. Staley was stuffed by Brett Keisel on his first carry of practice, but was solid afterward. He rattled off several impressive runs through traffic and was utilized multiple times as a receiver out of the backfield. Willie Parker showcased his speed, consistently getting to the second level before the defenders had a chance to get off their blocks. He was the best back on the field today. He and Staley worked on their hands during special teams drills. Verron Haynes also looked good hitting his lanes and cutting upfield, but dropped an easy catch over the middle during 11-on-11 drills. Cedric Humes met the wrath of Bill Cowher this afternoon. Cowher was furious at Humes’ seeming dedication to take every run off tackle and let the spit fly at the rookie back.

Wide Receivers

Hines Ward did not practice again. Nate Washington once again ran with the first team. He was early to practice, working with the JUGS machine. After his JUGS workout, he went over and caught some balls from Roethlisberger, as the two talked. He had another solid practice today, but did drop a Charlie Batch pass across the middle; however, on the next play, Batch came right back to him and he secured the ball for the reception. Willie Reid made the catch of the day, coming back for a low off-target pass that he grabbed with only one hand. He also lined up in the backfield for several plays, but only received touches as a receiver. Santonio Holmes and Sean Morey also had solid practices, although neither stood out. Lee Mays had a terrible practice, dropping balls left and right. There is more information about the wide outs participation in the one-minute drill below.

Tight Ends

Jerame Tuman and Jonathan Dekker continued to impress as receivers today. Heath Miller was surprisingly quiet on the field.

Offensive Line

The right side of the line once again was the weakness, as Aaron Smith and Rodney Bailey made their way to the quarterback on nearly every play. Alan Faneca was one of the first players on the field and worked on coming out of his stance prior to practice. Chris Kemoeatu had a hand injury and did not participate in drills.

Defensive Line

As mentioned above, Aaron Smith and Rodney Bailey had field days from their defensive end position. Bailey was particularly effective, beating his man consistently. Brett Keisel and Casey Hampton also managed to penetrate the line on more than one occasion. Keisel also assisted James Harrison’s interception, tipping the pass at the line.

Linebackers

James Harrison and Richard Seigler led the backers in turnovers, each recording an interception. Seigler has really come on in the past couple practices and is a likely practice squad candidate if he doesn’t work his way on to the active roster. James Farrior also seemed to be around the ball often and Clark Haggans recorded a sack.

Defensive Backs

Tyrone Carter started opposite Troy Polamalu once again. Ryan Clark played both safety positions, as practice progressed. Ricardo Colclough made an impressive knockdown on a pass just a couple plays after Tyrone Carter batted down a ball that Bryant McFadden would have likely intercepted behind him.

Special Teams

Anthony Madison, Cedrick Wilson, Santonio Holmes, and Quincy Morgan took repetitions as kick returners. I found it odd that Willie Reid was not on the field with the return team, as he has excelled in that role thus far.

One-Minute Drill

The first installment of the two-minute drill had the Charlie Batch led offense needing to score a touchdown. The first series began with a pass to Duce Staley in the flat for a minimal gain. Clark Haggans recorded a sack on second down. Cowher quickly called for a timeout. Nate Washington made a leaping grab on the next play for a first down and managed to get out of bounds near the offense’s 50 yard line. Santonio Holmes hauled in the next pass, stepping out of bounds for another first down near midfield. Troy Polamalu tipped the next Charlie Batch pass, resulting in second down. Willie Reid then made a diving grab around the 30 yard line, drawing a round of applause from the crowd. Bryant McFadden broke up the next pass, but Nate Washington grabbed a sideline pass on second down and stepped out of bounds near the five yard line. Duce Staley took a pitch to the left on first down, but was quickly wrapped up for a short loss. Batch immediately came back to the line and spiked the ball. With time for one more play, Batch dropped back and hurled a strike to the back of the endzone for Nate Washington; which was tipped away by Tyrone Carter, ending the drive.

The second installment had the offense, led by Shane Boyd, needing only a field goal.
The drive began with consecutive drops by Lee Mays. Sean Morey made a stellar grab over the middle on third down, gaining enough yardage to move the chains with a first down near the offense’s 40. Ricardo Colclough deflected the next pass intended for Walter Young. Sean Morey caught the next pass, taking it just shy of midfield before trotting out of bounds. Morey failed to haul in the third down pass, bringing up a short fourth down. On fourth down, Boyd dropped back and tossed a screen to Cedric Humes, who burst past the defenders down the left sideline. The gain to about the 20 was bittersweet, as the ball leapt from Humes arms and rolled out of bounds. With the offense in secure field goal range, the drill ended.

Im really liking what Im seeing from Nate Washington again, this guy can really be an impact player for us. With all the competition between him and our 2 draft picks, along with Morey, its only going to serve all of them in doing well.

I wouldnt be surprised to see us carry only 2 TE's. Heath and Jerame, and then put 1 on the PS.

Im really liking what Im seeing from Nate Washington again, this guy can really be an impact player for us. With all the competition between him and our 2 draft picks, along with Morey, its only going to serve all of them in doing well.

I wouldnt be surprised to see us carry only 2 TE's. Heath and Jerame, and then put 1 on the PS.

Well they should put a TE on the practice squad just in case of emergency. Heath and Jerame definantly. They were having a good day when I was up their this past saturday.

Exactly... if you think about it Heath and Jerame will get the bulk of the playing time anyways, the 3rd TE will just be mainly for goal line if anything and incase of injury, at that point you can always sign a FA or get someone off your PS.

The defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers suffered their first major injury of the season, losing a veteran member of their offensive line. In fact, the injury is so severe, it could be career-threatening.

LATROBE - The Pittsburgh Steelers were dealt ther first major injury blow Tuesday when they learned center Chukky Okobi may be lost for the season because of a ruptured disk in his neck.

Steelers head coach Bill Cowher said the injury, which occured sometime last week and has been bothering the backup center for the past week, may even be career-threatening.

Because of the injury to Okobi, rookie Marvin Phillip takes a step up the depth chart and even saw time with the first team offense Wednesday afternoon.

Phillip has looked good at times and the team likes his potential. He was center for both groups in the two-minute offense drill and looked to have some problems with his long snaps.

Hines Ward tried to return to practice early, but left after some team drills as his hamstring is still tight. Cowher said it wasn’t a setback, however, and that Ward was just seeing how things felt.

Cowher did say that linebacker Joey Porter will likely be activated off the PUP list Wednesday and will practice for the first time in this camp. Porter has been out since having offseason knee surgery.

The Steelers head coach was in a better mood today than he was for yesterday afternoon’s session, but did take some time out to yell at defensive linemen Shaun Nua and Rodney Bailey.

“Come on Nua, show me something,” Cowher yelled to Nua moments after chastisting Bailey to, “stay low and come off the ball.”

Both are battling for a backup spot on the defensive line.

On the first play of team 11-on-11 drills, Heath Miller made a beautiful one-handed catch of a Ben Roethlisberger pass in the flats. He took one step, however, and had the ball stripped by James Harrison. Deshea Townsend picked the ball up and easily scored.

On the ensuing play, Roethlisberger threw deep to Cedrick Wilson, but was intercepted by Troy Polamalu, who made a nice over the shoulder running catch.

Rookie wideout Santonio Holmes continues to have his ups and downs.

On one play, he dropped a perfect pass down the sideline from Charlie Batch. On the next play, seemingly the same pattern on the other side of the field, Holmes caught the pass.

The play of the day belonged to Ike Taylor, who made a leaping deflection of what appeared to be a perfect Batch pass to tight end Charles Davis near the front corner of the end zone.

Shayne Boyd and Omar Jacobs ran the two-minute offenses, with neither leading their unit to a score.

Boyd was picked off at the 20 by safety Mike Logan after overthrowing Willie Reid to end the first session.

In the second session, the defense gave Jacobs a little taste of crowd noise getting the fans in attendance to yell as well. The drill ended when Jacobs threw incomplete to Davis on fourth down from the 36.

Of note are the fact that Shayne Boyd again worked with Jeff Reed as a holder and we’ve now learned he has a legitimate shot of beating out Chris Gardocki for the punting job.

Also, Rian Wallace’s spot as the team’s fourth inside linebacker is also in jeopardy from Richard Sielger, who has surpassed him on the depth chart.

It was a beautiful afternoon in Latrobe, as the Steelers continued their second week of training camp. Another massive crowd made its way to the bowl shaped practice field and the defense opted to make good use of them later in practice. My pictures from this afternoon, although limited, can be viewed HERE.

Quarterbacks

Ben Roethlisberger once again practiced in his fluorescent cap, which he first donned yesterday. Roethlisberger elected to wear the cap as a gag after Chris Hoke inadvertently hit Charlie Batch in practice. After a successful outing yesterday, Roethlisberger decided to continue wearing his new moniker. His luck would not continue, however, as Roethlisberger overthrew multiple receivers, skipped a couple passes in low,and was intercepted deep by Troy Polamalu. Ben’s best pass of the day was a strike to Heath Miller down the seam, but was quickly followed by a near interception by Larry Foote. Batch had another good practice, but drew little attention. Omar Jacobs and Shane Boyd each received a shot at the one-minute drill. Boyd started out with a couple short passes before hitting Nate Washington across the middle for about 10 yards, just over the outstretched hands of Mike Logan. On the next play Logan read Boyd’s eyes once again and this time arrived in time to pick off the pass. Jacobs moved his drive along into enemy territory before the defensive players began to simulate crowd noise, encouraging the spectators to join in. Jacobs ensuing fourth down pass fell incomplete. Jacobs also tossed an interception in an earlier drill. In addition, Jacobs and Boyd worked with Jeff Hartings and Kyle Andrews on the center-quarterback exchange. Boyd caught my eye with his confidence in Santanio Holmes, tossing a pass into double coverage for the receiver to go after.

Runningbacks

Willie Parker worked on his hands during special teams drills. John Kuhn saw a good deal of halfback repetitions today and Cedric Humes made sure to keep his runs up the gut. After one repetition in walkthroughs, Verron Haynes could be heard telling Charlie Batch to toss him the ball the next time through. Instead, Haynes took a handoff.

Wide Receivers

Nate Washington and Santonio Holmes stood out today. Washington once again started opposite Cedrick Wilson, as Hines Ward remained in street clothes. Washington seemed to be Roethlisberger’s go to receiver, as he plucked pass after pass out of the air. Holmes seemed to get most of the second team catches, making several on the far field that had the crowd applauding. Willie Reid and Quincy Morgan also made some pretty receptions. Morgan came out as the fourth wide receiver today.

Tight Ends

Heath Miller looked like a stud pass catching tight end today. Jerame Tuman had another solid practice, as well. Jonathan Dekker, who has been quietly impressing, had an off day; he dropped entirely too many balls.

Offensive Line

Alan Faneca and Marvel Smith both worked on coming out of their stance prior to practice. Chris Kemoeatu rejoined the offensive line today, but did not participate in any drills that involved use of his hands. Trai Essex sat out practice. Barrett Brooks had a terrible practice, inconsistently staying low and showing only mediocre footwork. Max Starks looked particularly sharp and Russ Grimm let him know it. The linebackers and defensive linemen participated in a drill where they squared off with the offensive linemen, attempting to get to the quarterback. Grayling Love halted both Rodney Bailey and Orien Harris, while Barrett Brooks was beaten twice by Clark Haggans. Brandon Torrey succeeded in impressively stopping both Shaun Nua and Lee Vickers, but Kendall Simmons failed to control Rodney Bailey. Tim Brown really struggled and seemed to be giving up early. It is also worth noting that Ulish Booker halted Aaron Smith. Chukky Okobi did no practice and Cowher said his neck injury could potentially keep him out for the season or longer.

Defensive Line

Scott Paxson blew through Tim Brown twice in the pass rush drill. Lee Vickers and Shaun Nua were the biggest disappointments. Vickers failed to penetrate Brandon Torrey on two separate occasions, while Nua could not bypass Torrey or Barrett Brooks.

Linebackers

Larry Foote knocked down a pass in 11-on-11 drills, but the linebackers, as a whole, were relatively quiet today. Clark Haggans beat Barrett Brooks twice in the pass rushing drill, while James Harrison was thwarted by Willie Colon. Arnold Harrison was called for encroachment during the one-minute drill at the end of practice.

Defensive Backs

Ryan Clark started opposite Troy Polamalu at safety. Tyrone Carter participated at both safety positions. He intercepted Omar Jacobs from the strong safety spot. Both Polamalu and Anthony Smith smacked into receivers as they caught passes, dropping both to the ground. Polamalu also picked off Roethlisberger deep in 11-on-11 drills. Ike Taylor dropped an easy Shane Boyd interception early in practice, but atoned for it with a stellar, leaping knockdown on a deep pass later in practice. Ricardo Colclough also had an impressive play where he met Willie Reid just as he caught the ball. Colclough held up, but the pass would have likely fell incomplete with his impeccable timing.

Special Teams

Ricardo Colclough, Santonio Holmes, and Willie Reid fielded punts. Both Jeff Reed and Mark Brubaker connected on 50 yard field goals, kicking them into the sea of fans decorating the hillside.